Putt Putt is cool

Do you know people like my close friend Putt Putt, the kind of person that will drop everything to lend a hand to someone in need? Or perhaps the kind of person that will drop everything to lend a hand to someone that is inept at certain types of home improvement projects? The latter describes me to a T. I’m great at some things (like eating, watching TV, mortaring rocks on cinder blocks), but crummy at others (like crawling up in my attic and spending two hours putting new light boxes in the ceiling). But Putt Putt (Chad) is great at that kind of thing. Putt Putt has been a co-volunteer with me at Camp Goodtimes for the past 3 years and adds so much to the kids experience there. In the span of just one hour at camp I’ve seen him get dumped into a dunk tank, immersed into a foam pit, get obliterated with whipped cream during the “dairy” war at the carnival, get hosed down by the local fire department, start a slip ‘n slide on the muddy, whipped creamy grass and then go jump into Puget Sound. But I digress…



Chad brought his daughter Devon out the other day to help me with some stuff that I would have caused a fire doing and in return I was going to stuff them both with Thai food plus take some killer pictures. We had been meaning to get together for a photo shoot for a while but now Devon was getting ready to head back out of town to Florida where she lives with her mom during the school year.





When they first came out the light was beautiful here but Putt Putt and I had a lot of work to do so Devon just hung out with my son Miles, chilling and texting their significant others on their iPhones. By the time we (because I DID actually help a little) were finishing up, the clouds had rolled in and the sky had darkened and I was mad at myself for not taking photos sooner. However, I quickly resolved my inner conflict when I came up with some ideas for photographs that I never would have earlier in the day. I even had Devon posing on my gas grill for a few photos using only a 50 watt porch light to illuminate the scene. In one shot, Chad and I both thought that Devon looked a lot like the actress Natalie Portman. Adding Francis the Dog for a few photos was a little tricky. Mainly because I was laughing so hard at Francis’ “doggy sweater” that it was difficult to focus the camera.









I guess there is a fringe benefit to being inept at a few things and spending the day with good friends turned out to be one of them. Chad is a rare person. When he’s not actually working to make a living it seems like all of his other time is directed towards doing things for other people. This time, the light now (literally) shines brighter in my house because of Chad (wait for the clever analogy and cue violin music…) as it does in everyone’s house who is lucky enough to know him! (I just couldn’t resist that one.)

Thanks Putt Putt!